What dichotomy?

People always talk about the mind as something separate from the body. I disagree. Your body includes your mind, and your mind wouldn't be anything without your body. They're both necessary, intertwined, interdependent parts of You. Everything that you do with your mind has effects on your body, and vice versa.

Tired? You're probably crabby, too. Stressed? Wow, look at that zit. Sad? There isn't enough sleep in the world for you when you feel sad.

In any case, I am stressed. How do I know? I am crabby, tired, breaking out and bloated. Almost sounds like it's that time of the month, but it's not. Trust me. The feeling of being overwhelmed has been, well, overwhelming me lately. And it's taking a toll on my physical well-being. Adrenaline has been almost non-stop and the exhaustion has been unavoidable. My body is saying "Calm down!"

Then there's the inevitability of it. I will never not be stressed. I may not have 6 papers to write, and post-graduation stability to find, but I will always need to worry and stress about things. Money, family, careers, etc. It will never stop. Even when I'm retired, how will I pay for my prescriptions? Will I be lonely?

Aw, dang. Anyway, time to get back to my paper that's due soon...

Day of Silence and Ra Ra Riot!

My Day of Silence was pretty awesome. We did a freeze during chapel time for 5 minutes. We planned out strategically where we were going to stand. I froze holding a door open for Phil who froze partway through it.

The girl stopped behind him, waiting. She waited like, 30 seconds before she realized neither of us were moving and went through another door. There were also a lot of visitors today. The Regents were on campus and there was an Economic Summit so there were a lot of smart-looking business types there. Also, it's an Accepted Students weekend. Good times.

My first professor was really supportive ("everybody ok? Catey? Thumbs up!"), and my classes. The other professor just said "ok." But he didn't make me talk, so that's cool.

This evening, we hosted the Night of Noise at our house. We had about 30 students and one Townie. She was a sweet middle-aged woman. It was fun.

The fun part of the night was Ra Ra Riot. The music was good. The crowd was really awkward, though. You know how when there's someone in the crowd who is way more into the music than the rest of the crowd is? (if you don't, you're probably that guy who is premature). There were 10 of them, humping the stage and awkwardly waving their hands in the air. Eventually the rest of the crowd got there, too, but then they got even more into it and one even tried to grab the singer.

In other news, they're all really attractive. Especially the cellist and bassist (story of my life!). Now if only they didn't dress like 12 year olds trying on their parent's clothes from the 80s.

OutFront and Day of Silence

Today, several other students and I went to St. Paul for OutFront Minnesota JustFair Lobby Day. It's a day where pro-LGBTQ supporters go to the state Capitol and make appointments with their state senators and representatives and ask that they support LGBTQ people in Minnesota.

It's so much fun! I love going there and seeing everyone and even meeting with my absolutely unsupportive legislators. Also, really weird legislators. My lobby coach was, who is a regular at the capitol, was wearing pigtails, and my representative pulled one of them. Considering she is a city councilwoman, that is extremely inappropriate and unprofessional. She was really creeped out, and tweeted about it right away. She is not a professional politician, she says. He is really good at avoiding topics, too. And interrupting people.

My senator was better this year than last year. Although we pulled him out of council, so we had to be brief. Last year he talked about how his faith dictates how he has to act. This year, he just talked about how he thinks government should stay out of everything (note, he isn't introducing any bills to get government out of marriage)(another note: he alluded to the fact that his party won't let him introduce any bills at all, so maybe he would if he could)(another note: but he did say he would support government banning same-sex marriage outright, so that's not really government staying out of it. it's banning one type of marriage while actively supporting another). He also got hit by a car a few days ago... he seemed to be okay, though.

And, despite the snow at the outdoor rally, it was just a really awesome day!

Tomorrow will be awesome too. It's the Day of Silence! :D

I'll write more about that tomorrow, though, after I experience it.

If your vagina got dressed, what would it wear?

The Vagina Monologues. So far, 2 sold-out shows at St. Olaf, with a third performance tomorrow. Pretty successful! I love the Vagina Monologues. I don't identify that much with my reproductive organs, but I love my vulva.

Mine would wear a blanket. A warm fleece tie-blanket.

The Vagina Monologues have been very influential in my life. This is the fourth year I've seen them, and for the fourth year, I have laughed and cried and thought about and identified with the monologues. "My Angry Vagina" and "The Woman Who Liked to Make Vaginas Happy" are two of my favorite funny monologues. Cold mean duck lips, dry wads of fucking cotton and the surprise triple orgasm get the whole audience laughing. Others, like "My Vagina Was My Village" and "Memory of Her Face" bring me to tears to think of the pain that women experience because of they are women.

Others, like "The Flood" and "The Little Coochie Snorcher That Could" make me so thoughtful. These poor women have/had oppressed any comfort or identification with their down there's and coochie snorchers. Our vaginas are a part of us. What has to happen for you to only associate your coochie snorcher with pain and misery and humiliation? And even more perplexing, how did more abuse save your coochie snorcher and help it become a source of pleasure? Probably, my favorite one is "Hair." Hair is about a woman whose husband made her shave her vulva, and cheated on her when she wouldn't. Why would shaving your vag to make yourself look like a 10 year old be a turn-on? Hair is there because it hasn't lost it's evolutionary purpose yet. Being sanitary is important, but having hair isn't unsanitary. I don't need to shave my vag. It and I are just as happy and healthy with hair as without it.

In any case, if you haven't seen the Vagina Monologues, I suggest you see it. It's a wonderful play, and all proceeds help end violence against women (money is donated to local organizations depending on where you see it).

MSS St. Louis

Well, spring break came and went. After a weekend at my mom's house (and beating the pants off of her in scrabble), and a few days bumming around my house at school (and beating the pants off one of my housemates in scrabble, playing a LOT of pokemon white, and watching a couple seasons of LOST), I went with 6 fellow students and professor to St. Louis for a sociology conference.

I had a lot of fun! The ten hour drive through Iowa was kind of boring, but I couldn't sleep. A few of us just talked and I played more Pokemon. We stayed at the Millennium Hotel right downtown, a couple blocks from the hotel the conference was in. It snowed almost the whole time, so the short walk was really cold and uncomfortable. Our hotel was being used by the National Conference of Black Engineers, so it was fun to see all the southern kids who hadn't seen snow very much if at all.

The conference itself was cool. I stayed in my women's studies comfort zone and went to sessions that focused on gender and sexuality issues. Topics ranged from the feelings of loss of transmen and their partners to rural lesbian identity frames. It was really interesting to see what everyone was researching. There were hundreds of sessions with 3 or 4 papers discussed in each session. Crazy to see how many sociologists are studying in the Midwest.

Our own presentation was good. Not well attended, but we did well. Our small audience turned into a really interesting discussion of what students need out of sociology programs, classes and teachers. Probably haven't mentioned it here yet, but we studied how students feel about the post-graduation planning process. We found that the earlier students begin planning, they also have higher levels of self-efficacy (confidence they'll be able to achieve their post-college career goals) and most positive attitudes (less anxious, more excited). Other groups studied transferable skills, social networks, career resource use, etc. We focused on attitudes, beliefs and plans.

Now, it's back to school. 2 months before I graduate! Ahh! So excited! Now I just have to find a place to live and work and time to finish everything I need to finish by then.

Deadlines

I hate being on time. I need to be early. Why didn't I do anything last week? Why did I only turn in my distinction application a day before it was due? Why can't I set deadlines for myself?

Sleep, for example. I finished my homework (due tomorrow!) at 11:40. "Great!" I thought, "I can be asleep by 12. It's good. I've been shorting myself on sleep lately."

It's now 12:45. *facepalm* Am I just magically incapable of closing my laptop if I don't have someone else to be accountable to? I do need to be able to do my assignment tomorrow (due friday!) which will require a lot of thinking, considering I haven't started it yet.

Spring break is soon. That'll be a good time to work on self-regulating deadlines. Especially since I'm starting my Pokemon White on Friday afternoon, and I have to read a book and write a review over break, as well as practice my speech for the conference where I'm presenting in a week, and work on Vagina Monologues planning, Day of Silence planning, MN AIDS Walk planning, transcribe another interview, write a couple interview analyses and work on my curriculum for my women's studies seminar. Oh, and find a job and a place to live and people to live with after graduation...

It'll be good practice. I'll probably bring homework with me to St. Louis as well. I'll give myself this weekend to have Spring Break, then get started.

Help Save Planned Parenthood

I recently watched this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gaxBR1AiFS4 by Wesleyan students in support of Planned Parenthood.

I love it! I love Planned Parenthood and I am so sad/mad/irritated that their small funding pie (none of which actually goes to abortion services) is being cut, while the Air Force gets to keep their NASCAR advertising. While the richest of the rich get more tax breaks. While huge corporations threaten to take even more jobs overseas if they don't get more tax breaks.

Maybe we should just let them leave! Let's start buying in companies that won't hold our deficit hostage if they don't get even more of our money. Buy local. Buy smart! Support the companies that support you! I'm not the biggest Lady Gaga fan in the world, but what she did this week was powerful! Imagine if everyone did that!

Also, Walker and the Wisconsin GOP legislators are cowards.